Lee "Scratch" Perry was a Jamaican record producer, composer and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development of dub music with his early adoption of remixing and studio effects to create new instrumental or vocal versions of existing reggae tracks. He worked with and produced for a wide variety of artists, including Bob Marley and the Wailers, Junior Murvin, The Congos, Max Romeo, Adrian Sherwood, Beastie Boys, Ari Up, The Clash, The Orb, and many others.
Dub is an electronic musical style that grew out of reggae in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is commonly considered a subgenre of reggae, though it has developed to extend beyond that style. Generally, dub consists of remixes of existing recordings created by significantly manipulating the original, usually through the removal of vocal parts, emphasis of the rhythm section, the application of studio effects such as echo and reverb, and the occasional dubbing of vocal or instrumental snippets from the original version or other works.
Horace Andy is a Jamaican roots reggae songwriter and singer, known for his distinctive vocals and hit songs such as "Government Land", as well as "Angel", "Spying Glass", and "Five Man Army" with English trip hop group Massive Attack. He is also famous for a cover version of "Ain't No Sunshine". Andy is often described as one of the most respected and influential singers in Jamaica.
Pato Banton is a reggae singer and toaster from Birmingham, England. He received the nickname Pato Banton from his stepfather: its first name derives from the sound of a Jamaican owl calling "patoo, patoo", while its second comes from the disc jockey slang word "banton", meaning heavyweight lyricist or storyteller. In 1994, he achieved a number 1 on the UK Singles Chart with a cover of The Equals' "Baby, Come Back", featuring Robin and Ali Campbell of UB40.
Loveppears is the second studio album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released in Japan, Hong Kong and China on November 10, 1999, through Avex Trax and the China Record Corporation, and distributed worldwide on April 10, 2001, by Avex Entertainment Inc. It was entirely written by Hamasaki herself, while the production was handled by Japanese musician Max Matsuura. Musically, Loveppears is a dance album and lyrically focuses on themes of love, frustration of life, loneliness, and individualism.
Rainbow is the fifth studio album by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki, released on 18 December 2002 by Avex Trax. Production of Rainbow had commenced after the release of Hamasaki's fourth studio album I Am... that January; All lyrics were written by Hamasaki, and Japanese producer Max Matsuura returned to produce the album. The album was Hamasaki's first to feature conversational English lyrics, where in her previous works she had only used single words.
"To Be" is a song by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It served as the third single from Hamasaki's second studio album Loveppears (1999). The track was released by Avex Trax in Japan and Taiwan on May 12, 1999, and through Avex Entertainment Inc. worldwide in September 2008. It was Hamasaki's final single to be distributed as a Mini-CD, a format that debuted at the start of her career in April 1998. "To Be" was written by Hamasaki herself, while production was handled by long-time collaborator Max Matsuura. Musically, it is a J-Pop that was written in third person perspective, much like the content from the parent album.
"Boys & Girls" is a song recorded by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki, serving as the fourth single for her second studio album, Loveppears (1999). It was released by Avex Trax in Japan and Hong Kong on July 14, 1999, and through Avex USA in North America in early 2001, while being re-distributed in 2003. "Boys & Girls" marks Hamasaki's first single to be made available for purchase as a maxi single with additional remixes. The track was written by the singer herself, while production was handled by long-time collaborator Max Matsuura. Musically, the song is a dance recording, a genre that heavily influences Loveppears. The single's lyrical content is written in third-person perspective.
"Appears" is a song recorded by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released by Avex Trax on November 10, 1999 as the sixth single from her second studio album Loveppears (1999), which was released on the same day. Alongside this, it has been released in several other territories with different release dates under her Western alias Ayu. It also served as Hamasaki's first limited edition single, limiting physical sales to 300,000 copies. The track was written by Hamasaki herself, while production was handled by long-time collaborator Max Matsuura. Musically, "Appears" is a dance song written in third person perspective, and is about the third person watching what appears to be a happy and loving relationship. Upon its release, "Appears" received positive reviews from music critics. Alexey Eremenko, writing for AllMusic, selected the track as the best song from the album and her career. However, an editor from CD Journal criticized the amount of remixes on the CD single.
"Kanariya" is a song recorded by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki for her second studio album, Loveppears (1999). It was released by Avex Trax in Japan and Hong Kong on December 8, 1999, and through Avex USA in North America in early 2000. The recording also served as Hamasaki's second limited edition single, with limited physical units of 300,000 copies. The track was written by Hamasaki herself, while production was handled by long-time collaborator Max Matsuura. Two versions of "Kanariya" were made available for consumption—a radio edit produced by American disc jockey Jonathan Peters, and the album version composed by Yasuhiko Hoshino. Lyrically, the song was written in third person perspective.
"Fly High" is a song recorded by Japanese recording artist Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released by Avex Trax in Japan on February 9, 2000, and through Avex Entertainment Inc. worldwide in September 2008. The recording served as Hamasaki's third and final limited edition single from her second studio album, Loveppears (1999), limiting physical units to 300,000 copies. The track was written by the singer herself, while production was handled by long-time collaborator Max Matsuura. Two versions of "Fly High" were made available for consumption—a radio edit composed by HΛL, and the album version produced by Dai Nagao. Lyrically, the song was written in third person perspective.
"Endless Sorrow" is a song recorded by Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki, released as her 22nd single on May 16, 2001.
Ayu-mi-x is the first remix album by Japanese musician Ayumi Hamasaki. It was released on March 17, 1999, to promote A Song for ××. Ayu-mi-x remix album contains 2 discs. Disc 1 is the Remix Club Side which contains dance remixes. Disc 2 is the Acoustic Orchestra Side which contains orchestral remixes and 3 dub mixes.
"Connected" is a song by Japanese singer Ayumi Hamasaki from her fourth studio album I Am... (2002). It was released as a single in Europe under the alias Ayu. The song was written by Hamasaki herself while it was produced by Dutch disc jockey Ferry Corsten. The song was first conceived when Corsten had developed a track in Europe entitled "The Lots of Love". Despite him playing it at several events and shows throughout Europe, he did not release the track. After this, Hamasaki and Corsten had started to collaborate and the pair had changed and used the finishing result to create "Connected".
Dub Maniacs on the Rampage is a studio album released by Mad Professor. It was released in 1993 on the Ariwa label. This album was the last installment in Mad Professor's "Dub Me Crazy" series.
Mafia & Fluxy are a British reggae rhythm section and production team, consisting of the brothers Leroy (bass) and David Heywood (drums), whose careers began with London reggae band The Instigators in 1977. They backed Jamaican artists on UK tours, and in 1987 visited Jamaica, building rhythm tracks for producers such as Bunny Lee, King Jammy,Mad Professor, Donovan Germain and Philip "Fatis" Burrell, becoming one of the most in-demand rhythm sections of the ragga age. They started their own label, producing for artists such as Sugar Minott, King Kong, Gregory Isaacs, Johnny Osbourne, Cornell Campbell and General Levy.
Susan Cadogan is a Jamaican reggae singer best known for her hit records in the mid 1970s.
Starkey Banton aka Starkey Super is a British reggae deejay known for his "cultural" lyrics, active since the mid-1970s.
Ayu-mi-x 6: Gold and Ayu-mi-x 6: Silver are two remix albums released by Japanese pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki on March 26, 2008. They are the sixth and seventh entries in Hamasaki's Ayu-mi-x remix album series, and the first Ayu-mi-x albums since 2003's Ayu-mi-x V. Following 2005's My Story Classical, they are the first remix albums in roughly four years.
Never Give In is the second album by English reggae artist Pato Banton, released by Greensleeves Records in 1987. By the release of the record, Banton had built a long-time following as an MC and deejay thanks to collaborations with other reggae artists like Mad Professor, and momentum-building tours around the United Kingdom, United States and Europe. He recorded the album with producers G.T. Haynes and Lesburn Thomas and worked with the Studio Two Crew from his native Birmingham. The record displays Banton's humorous approach to serious subjects such as drugs and poverty, which he delivers via singing and toasting, whilst the music balances roots reggae with nascent digital dancehall, with accessible grooves and a punctuating horn section. The record features collaborations with Ranking Roger, Paul Shaffer and Steel Pulse.
